HipHopDX Editor Omar Burgess explains why the two shocking headlines of the last two weeks may teach us something about ourselves as Hip Hoppers.

“Slit the wrist of little sis / After she sucked the dick / I stabbed her brother with an ice pick / Because he wanted me to fuck him from the back / But Smallz don’t get down like that…” – Notorious B.I.G., “Dead Wrong”

What can you learn about black, male sexuality and judgment from Ashley Judd and Mister Cee? Well, there’s a purposely-loaded question that was intentionally phrased to make you pause. Yes, “pause”—as in that played out phrase that became so trendy whenever one of us flipped a homoerotic double-entendre.

To say that Internet culture moves fast would be a gross understatement. For all of the decidedly dumb statements you find on the HipHopDX comment boards, there’s a reason people still use one of them: “First!” Aside from having entirely too much time on their hands, the “First!” people are kind of on to something. Things move just that fast these days. The spoils and page views go to the outlet that finds the story first. That’s why last week, as news broke of two distinctly different situations—both interesting for totally different reasons broke—I took to the idea of waiting. As most of us know by now, the NYPD provided a report of Mister Cee receiving fellatio from another man in public, and Ashley Judd called Hip Hop misogynistic "rape culture."

The two stories were unrelated, but both touched on two taboo topics in Hip Hop. Interestingly enough, we can use the late Notorious B.I.G. as the link between both. Notorious B.I.G. represented everything we love about Hip Hop—for better or worse. Songs like “Juicy,” “Everyday Struggle” and “Kick In The Door” represent the apex of male, emcee bravado. This is the shit Hip Hop was built on: the element of battling another emcee. Simply put, “I’m better than you and this is why.” You also got examples of urban plight on “Sky’s The Limit” and “Things Done Changed.” Add in Biggie’s gift for storytelling, and the emotional range of tracks like “Missing You,” and you get the full package.

That same competitive nature is why there has never been (and likely never will be) an openly mainstream homosexual rapper. The stereotypes that make Biggie acceptable are the opposite stereotypes associated with homosexuals. And this is where Mister Cee comes in. Mister Cee was an influential figure early in Biggie’s career. When Big Daddy Kane’s career was at its apex, Mister Cee was his deejay. Cee’s a tastemaker who made legendary contributions to our culture, and last week the police just so happened to furnish a report insinuating that he had sex with another man on at least one occasion.

Is what happened between Mister Cee and Lawrence Campbell any of our business? Well, yes and no. Yes because it’s public record, and the law provides for you to get a written police report of the incident, if you’re interested in what two grown men do with their mouths and penises inside of a parked car. Are you? You have to laugh at the hypocrisy of how everyone is yelling “pause” and “no homo,” yet the Mister Cee story was easily our most trafficked story last week. In a larger context, my answer to the aforementioned question is no. What Mister Cee does or doesn’t do behind closed doors doesn’t make him a better or worse deejay. It doesn’t take away from the classic work he did with Big Daddy Kane and Notorious B.I.G.

I’m more upset at Mister Cee’s peers who attempted to chastise us for being judgmental. Where was this newfound moral grandstanding when Karrine Steffans was telling every radio personality within earshot about how she inserted a couple fingers inside of Big Tigger’s ass? Was there any respect for Soulja Boy’s privacy when Kat Stacks was calling him an impotent cocaine addict? You can make a successful yet subjective argument that neither Big Tigger nor Soulja Boy’s contributions to Hip Hop are as significant as Mister Cee’s. But for these radio personalities to say they didn’t talk about Mister Cee’s arrest because they were practicing ethical journalism is Grade A bullshit. They didn’t report the story because Mister Cee is a friend, co-worker and business associate. And for any of us to believe otherwise is patently naïve.

“Smack the bitch in the face / Take the Gucci bag and her Northface off her back / Jap her if she act / Funny with the money / Oh you got me mistaken honey / I don’t wanna rape ya / I just want the paper…” –Notorious B.I.G., “Dead Wrong”

As far as I can tell, The New York Post was the first media outlet to break the news of Ashley Judd stating, “As far as I’m concerned, most rap and hip-hop music—with its rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as ‘ho’s’—is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny.” In Judd’s defense, those were just 32 words out of a 400-page book. But you have to wonder if anyone ever played her “Infamous Date Rape” by A Tribe Called Quest.

Much like Judd’s chosen profession of acting, Hip Hop has a lot of indefensible works that at worst promote misogyny. In some cases, a song like Capone-N-Noreaga’s “Parole Violators” features Tragedy Khadafi mentioning an actual rape by rhyming, “War Report / Cut your life short / You Babe Ruth niggas ain’t ready for blood sport / Yo we mask up / Pointing the heat / Duct Taping her / Gag her mouth so she can’t scream / Start raping her / Camcorder / You can’t miss it cuz we taping her / Raping her / Raping her…”

For an added bonus we can throw in DMX’s “X Is Coming,” where DMX rhymes, “I ain’t knocking on the door / I’m coming in the house / And I’m gunning for your spouse / Trying to send that bitch back to her maker / And if you got a daughter older than 15 / I’ma rape her.”

See what I did there? Those are arguably two of the most misogynistic rhymes I could find. In full context they’re both about fictional situations, but that doesn’t make them any less disturbing and outright fucked up. It’s safe to say Judd never heard either song, and me saying those two songs are a proper and total representation of Hip Hop is wrong.

Have you seen the movie Unfaithful? In one scene, Oiver Martinez’s character (Paul Martel) begins to rape Diane Lane’s character (Connie Summer). She begins smiling mid-coitus and the rape turns into consensual sex. The movie is billed as a Drama. The movies Kiss The Girls and Natural Born Killers are also billed as Dramas (Judd’s scene from Natural Born Killers was deleted). Judd was paid for her roles in both movies. By Judd’s logic, you can judge all Drama’s by the same standard that you judge Unfaithful. But you shouldn’t have to take her argument to its extreme to see how flawed it is.

Judd later apologized for her comments, and I think that was a huge step in the right direction. But I also don’t think Judd knew just how damaging her comments were. Let’s lay the facts out. Judd is a white woman who was raised in Kentucky. Hip Hop is a genre predominately performed by black men. For Judd to insinuate that Hip Hop promotes misogyny and rape culture harkens back to the days of when black men were lynched and castrated for sexual relationships with white women—consensual and or imagined. Am I the only one that saw that connection?

When Judd made her statements, you have to wonder if she thought about that and how it has implications way beyond Hip Hop. I don’t think Judd is racist. I think she put her foot in her mouth, and her rush to uneducated judgment is a symptom of the problem our entire culture currently has. I sincerely hope that someone brings the Jim Crow connection to her attention. This incident should end with more learning that just her being introduced to “artists whose lyrics embody activism and progressive values” and “more beats for [her] playlists.”

Taboo topics like rape, traditional gender roles and (gasp!) homosexuality are conveniently swept under the rug far too often everyday. The stereotypes about these topics are in place because people are scared to openly talk about them. If one of Hip Hop’s most influential deejays is caught having oral sex in public with another man, what does that mean about male bravado in Hip Hop? If one of America’s sweethearts can conjure up images of Jim Crow with one stroke of the pen, what does that say about Hollywood? And if there are vivid, even fictional images of rape on two Hip Hop albums that are critically acclaimed, what does that say about us as fans? In that context, who gives a fuck about someone getting a blowjob in a car on a corner? As an entire society, there are much bigger issues that should give us pause.

***Correction: April 14, 2011***

This editorial has been revised to reflect the following correction:Omar Burgess misstated Viggo Mortensen’s role of the movie Unfaithful. The male character of Paul Martel was played by Oliver Martinez, not Viggo Mortensen.

Omar Burgess is a Long Beach, California native by way of Flint, Michigan. In addition to contributing to various magazines and newspapers, he is an editor at HipHopDX.com.

Anonymous

theTruth

Sokju

American Black people are a very hypersensitive, and have embraced being hypersensitive as part of their culture. We need to acknowledge that although there are those who are educated and culturally refined, the majority of American Blacks have like I said, embraced this hypersensitive, macho, bravado that does not help them or their children. In short Judd was right.

lulu

We like to ignore the perils of hiphop culture to avoid being criticized. Excuses like all music is misogynistic, soandso is a racist, or my favorite "hiphop is street culture and they wouldn't understand" allow those within to deflect any perceived attacks
and, seriously for those that believe there is anything morally, fundamentally or socially wrong with being gay or doing anything gay like, u can FUCK YOURSELF (and if religiously, Fuck your god)...
if you think a women should be disrespected and called a derogatory term for using sex to their advantage but yet seem fine if men use them for sex...FUCK YOURSELF AGAIN.

theTruth

cum

"(Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports.
"We're talking about hoes that's in the 'hood that ain't doing shit, that's trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things."
- Snoop Dogg

Anonymous

crazy . . . keep changing the subject.
Homosexuality is ABNORMAL.
Bestiality is ABNORMAL.
Pedophilia is ABNORMAL.
Incest is ABNORMAL.
Just because you are either brainwashed or homosexual doesn't mean your acceptance of an ABNORMAL behavior is correct.
Nice try. Maybe you can start talking about how bad Bush was next, maybe talk about how monkeys like to eat bananas during self pleasure which makes Homosexual acts ok.

Chris Thomas

Omar--Props on this.
There are much bigger issues that have yet to be addressed in Hip Hop. We got a long way to go, but it's nice to see the awareness start to emerge.
A wise man once said, "Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample them, then come after you next!"
It takes courage to take a stand knowing full well you're gonna be attacked for it.
Again, props on this.
Chris Thomas

Anonymous

WHAT AN ACTUAL HIPHOPDX ARTICLE WITH SUBSTANCE! I'am impressed good points were raised BUT despite that people will not change its just how humans are...and hiphop is an portrayal of the poor man and his mentality's. Though i would really,really love this judd critique to meet krs one,rakim,onyx and talib kweli just to see the argument they would get into in.

Assassin221

Yeah, Jim Crow made Ashley Judd make those comments. It couldn't have had anything to do with the countless songs playing on the radio, TV, and sung by youth on a regular basis which portray women as ass-shaking sex objects in about the most degrading terms possible.
Don't get me wrong, it is frustrating to hear people judge the culture who clearly aren't very familiar with it, and "rape culture" is a bit of a strong term. But the fact is that for anyone who wants to attack hip-hop for the above-stated reasons, the gun is loaded and cocked already and they don't need any help from racism to pull the trigger.

I.N.V

RAINE

ummmm hip hop is misogynistic cut the bullshit....we always get mad when its someone outside of the culture commenting but lets keep it funky hiphop is dominated by men and most of the music is misogynistic even the songs that are supposed to compliment still always have a tinge of degradation towards women...it is what it is! im not mad at her @ all and i live and breathe hip hop 4ever!

Jerz

Rickmilli

They make movies where women get stabbed or brutality killed(Scream) and u lash out at rap, if it's not a true story or educational I don't wanna see that slasher flick bullshit. And last time I checked homosexuality is an a ABOMINATION didn't GOD destroy Sodom n Gomorrah?? Ashley act like slaves weren't being rape she need to talk to her people. Yes rappers be on sum kill bitch get money shit but songs like "why" and "I'm black" gets frowned upon??? I yes you respect gays cuz their people 2 but its not wrong/hateful to be anti-gay. I'm sorry if man/women are supposed to be 2gether

Eric

whoa. Think back on your life. I'm sure you've done something contradictory to what the bible teaches. The bible says all sorts of crazy shit, because it was written over the course of a thousand years by men trying to control other men. You believe everything you read son? Smarten up. By the way, when a priest puts his dick in a ten year old boys ass, thats an ABOMINATION.

Rickmilli

el_sur

Firstly, thanks for this article. This makes up for the atrocious one posted concerning Nas and his odd relationship with God.
Now, Mister Cee's business is not mine, so as long as his actions are not destructive to himself or to others, leave him be.
As for Ashley Judd, she is partially correct in that Hip-Hop music is misogynistic. Quick, name your favorite rapper who has never called a woman a bitch or a ho. Obviously, not ALL Hip-Hop is negative. Unfortunately, what has become popularized by music labels and henceforth aired on the radio over the years has been negative, and there is no denying that.
The author is recklessly dismissing this fact by stating Judd is generalizing, when in fact he is glossing over much of mainstream Hip-Hop (especially pre-Kanye).

Nicole

This is the problem with the media . They take one sentence or part of a book they think will get readers to react to. I actual read Ashley's book before many of the article's came out . The media would have people believe that it's a book to critize her mother and /or hip hop. It is neither. Most of it centers on her humantiarian work in Africa and Asia. She share stories of woman and children that are repeatedly raped and brutlized and sold in to sexual slavery ...she shares the stories that they have shared with her . With the rap comments she had actually been talking about rappers she had worked with on some of these projects and how they were kind, intelligent family men that then went on stage and performed those lyrics. while not all rap is misoyginistic , the people that want to justify their treatment of women will use those same lyrics to do so........As Americans we are more lucky than we realize..while slavery is a dark part of our history , it is just that.... history....the fact is that in some countries in the world it is still going on and it is a a fact of life for many women and children....I would suggest to read the book and if not her book....that some other book on the subject. I was upset and in tears by the end of her book....not b/c of her but b/c I realized I really didn't have a clue that people still were forced to live like this . Their stories and experiences are heartbreaking and infuriating

Lsn22s

Well, as far as the whole Mr. Cee thing, if dude is gay, there's nothing wrong with that, but he also knows the industry he's involved in, he should have either just came out or have been more on point keeping the secret...everyone knows how macho hip hop tries to be, u can't front, then get exposed and expect hip hop culture to give you a pass....I mean, I dont think Rick Ross will ever live down the C.O. thing, even if a lot of folks don't care...
As for Ashley Judd, its obvious she doesn't realize not all hip hop is "rape culture", but she has a point...there is A LOT of disgusting, immature hip hop music out there, and a lot of folks only get to see that side of things...blame all the fans who support ignorant-ass-music and help it get pushed to the forefront...while all the intelligent, conscious or positive stuff gets slept on and forgotten...its our own fault...really think about it, i dont know if any of u know any "goons" but they are incredibly immature, unintelligent weak-minded, insecure and useless to society...they live for that dumb shit so they can look cool, or look hard, lots of them cosign horrible music because they think it will make them look like a thug or whatever...so STUPID...THOSE are the people influencing a great deal of hip hop nowadays, and they fuck it up for everyone by making the whole culture look bad...
Even now, people need to realize that hyper-violent rap shit was kind of a 90's thing, its was pretty immature but folks still hold onto it cuz for whatever reason they think its the only way to combat all the pop-snap-club music...but its not, just make good music or support other artists who do...and don't cosign anything that isn't excellent in quality from all angles...i swear rap music is one of the only genres with absolutely NO QUALITY CONTROL...I'm truly ashamed of this shit sometimes...

Brown14

I'll put this out there, everyone reading this knows someone gay. Simple as. You might not know they are, but you will know someone. It's 2011 people, homosexuality should not be an issue, but sadly in Hip Hop it is.
The thing that annoyed me the most about the Mister Cee situation was rappers coming out an glossing over it, because he put Kane and Biggie on. Like, if he hadn't been that guy it would've been different. IT SHOULD BE OK NO MATTER WHAT.
I'm straight, and I don't give a fuck what Cee and the millions of other gay men around the world do. It doesn't affact me. Good luck to them, each to their own.
Peace

Lsn22s

yo i gotta cosign on that...i just found out my homeboy that i known since grade-school is bisexual, i had NO IDEA AT ALL...it made me realize i don't know shit about gay people...i mean, i knew dude since i was like 6 or 7 and never had the slightest clue...dude doesn't act/talk feminine, dresses just like anybody else, listens to hardcore rap/ heavy metal, smokes fools in Battlefield BC2 online, grows crazy ganja in his crib and is a hardcore electronics junkie...he is easily one of the coolest people i've ever met, when he told me he was bisexual i honestly didnt give a shit, i was a little surprised just cuz i had known him so long, but really what the fuck difference does it make?
And i also cosign that rappers should just accept gay people to begin with instead of waiting to turn over a new leaf when their homeboy unexpectedly comes out the closet lol...

Doubl Negative

Biggie got love from street dudes, even when he was spittin' some gay rhymes; "You look so good, I suck on your daddy's dick"/"I fuck Ru-Paul before I fuck them ugly-ass X-Scape bitches". The reason for this exception, is what the editor eluded to, Big was overtly straight, Black, ghetto and all of the other staples of Black/rap masculinity. A more conscious emcee maybe couldn't pull those lines off but with Big, there's a hint of sardonic wit. The other story involvin' Ashley is more complex. Jim Crow laws maybe abolished in modern America, but people, even if subconsciously, segregate themselves. This racial solidarity is highlighted whenever you speak to a white girl who detests and loathes hip-hop because of its subject matter, but adores Eminem. Obviously, Black people are the same in their preference for Obama, but that's because Obama gives a voice to people generally marginalized in politics.

SpaceGhost

Sean Cody Mahoney

You can't just palm off the problems with hip hop with that there are bigger problems. you can't act like the word bitch isn't offensive and that ashley judd doesn't have a point. Hip hop is incredibly misogynistic and homophobic and just because america also has these problems doesn't mean hip hop can stay flawed like this! Not all folk music was racist, but whatever was got stopped because it was wrong. The same should be with misogyny and homophobia with hip hop.

Kashif Ilyas

A very interesting article. Sure, hip-hop has a lot of negative connotations, but it also has a lot of positive music too. It is an art form, and art can't always be politically correct.
And a lot of bullshit is also there, but that's only entertainment.

yootoo

gamegameee

Noname

Pretty irresponsible to link blatant use of lyrical promotion of the degradation of women to the lynching of slaves over sexual relations. A HUGE portion of hip hop, and predominantly mainstream hip hop, does promote a terrible outlook on women, materialism, and life in general. Hip hop contains all races, it isn't just black emcees. Judd didn't say black men portray a rape culture, she said hip hop. This article, I'm sure is a favorite of the african american who steals a car, gets caught, and then says that he's being persecuted for his race. Grow the fuck up.

Bad Kid

Tone

You can't defend hip-hop, especially the more explicit material. Pointing out that there is an equal amount of violence in movies does not let hip-hop off the hook. And notice the ones who try to defend hip-hop most (Lil Brother, Common, Chuck D) are not the ones putting out the most violent material. The ones putting all that out are getting a check and keeping it moving. Unfortunately, hip-hop as a culture fails to see when you exist in relativity, an implosion is inevitable. I.E. Nigga was self-contained, now it's fairgrounds (I know ppl will argue it's not but be for real the term "nigga" transcends hip-hop at this point). In essence, hip-hop has lost it's moral authority.

ghostface

difference is people clearly see a movie as a work of fiction...music goes out of its way to say it's real life. how many rappers will try to make u believe theyre capable of killing or shooting someone? Or brag about jail time...its that ignorant shit that there is no defense for.

Nonsense

Lol at the gays trying to infiltrate hip hop. Hiphopdx and all these hip hop sites are slowly trying to destroy a modern form of the blues. You can sugar coat what one man/woman does in the bedroom any way you want but it still goes against the natural order. I could care less what yall do but stop trying to force that shit down everybodys throat...no homo. If one segment of society doesnt get down like that then leave it that way and pump some lady gaga. Shes got yalls back from day one.
www.youtube.com/nonsense913

miss me...

EddieMurrrphy

GEE DEE FOLKS

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. i am impressed dx mag.... that article was very well put together, so much, i friggin saved the page. i am interested in being a part of this hip hop culture w/ the family @dx so we all can sit down and discuss hip hop from all points. i have things to say and through this company i will have a chance to voice my opinion in regards to hip hop.

slate91

Yeah its Me

32 words out of a 400 page book AND its the TRUTH and you felt the need to write an article about it? You are in denial.
PLUS she didn't say ALL rap music, she said MOST rap music. It is a TRUE STATEMENT.
Rap music DOES have the following:
A) A rape culture
B) Insanely abusive lyrics
C) Depiction of girls and women as "ho's".
Ashely Judd is not a racist but YOU felt the need to write:
"LetÃ¢â¬â¢s lay the facts out. Judd is a white woman who was raised in Kentucky"
YOU sound like the racist, misogynists to me. That comment says:
A) She is a female; she does not know what she is talking about.
B) She is white; she does not know what she is talking about.
C) She is from Kentucky; she does not know what she is talking about.
I have one more problem. The fact that you think her apologizing is a "huge step in the right direction" is wrong. The girl said something that is true but because it isn't "politically correct" she apologized. Shhh like that is problem in this country. It's not a step in the right direction, it just sweeps the problem under a rug and hopes nobody notices it for a while.

Tyson Bret France

LJbigbang

So you're saying everything that Judd said is true (which I agree with). Fact of the matter is though: "Let's lay the facts out. Judd is white woman who was raised in Kentucky" is also a true statement. The writer wasn't implying anything there other than those facts mean that her views COULD be construed a certain way. This was a good article - I didn't agree with it all, but it raised some important points.
Although Judd's statement is true, as an avid hip-hop listener, isn't it frustrating when people who aren't wholly familiar with the genre make sweeping statements that do - regardless of the use of the word "most" - damage the entire face of hip-hop. The bit about the content of films was on point.

StarBlack

Nico 3

Watch Kiss the Girls. It only implies certain things, never shows it. Even if they did, movies are more directed to various age groups than music is. Thanks to IPOD's, cell phones, computers, etc. offensive music can be listened to all day, everyday, thus indirectly warping the minds of weak minded fools who don't know enough to turn it off, or not take what they're hearing literally. Judd had a point, but in the end, she backed off, and ruined a good opportunity to possibly wake more people up to the fact that most of their hip hop heroes are fucking lowlifes.

EddieMurrrphy

@el_fag it doesnt have to be rated r. there is a token sex scene in every movie, many animated movies have sexual themes in them for the adults to identify with, and their are plenty of pg-13 movies kids want to see w/ some cheesy teen romance.
what hip hop was marketed towards kids nowadays. certainly nothing a hip hopper listens too. its pure pop music being presented and jazzed up in a contrived hip hop way. we all know this. my point being, hardcore hip hop with emcees getting the room to get some wild thoughts and feelings off their chest is not marketed towards kids in the slightest. sometimes to censor foul rhymes and shit, but mostly to stifle creativity.
how many kids have heard of/listen to all day Tragedy Khadafi? and the street shit like that?

jay

27 year old black male. I love Hip Hop. fav rapper is Nas. Not that i need to prove to yall that i love hip hop. However, ashley judd is right. Why are we denyin this. We sing the lrics but we know its wrong man. she apologized but thats only cuz she wants to keep workin as an actor and writer. but we deep down know shes right. Jay-z addresses this in many songs. He addresses it as a guy who said those things. We-hip hop culture- are mysoginists. Yall ignorin the half naked girls in every video. Ignorin the strippers and videos hos? For example.."Big Pimpin" is my ringtone from time to time. its a great song, but the video blew the song the fuck up. the girls & the yacht made the video. letts stop kiddin ourselves man. As a listener to mainstream hip hop we are mysoginists. jsut admit it

Aaron B. Baldwin

The BIGGEST irony in this story about Judd is the picture accompanying the story that I saw elsewhere as well when it first broke the shot of Ashley and Common!.....She made reference to Snoop & Diddy who we all know as artist have identical music & lyrical styles as...Common! She quickly jumped to the kind of music they have put out but NEVER got into the question: what qualifies a person to do good? or does a person have to BE good to DO good?

amp_sample

I never really rushed to be offended at what Ashley Judd said, because for the most part a lot of hip hop does promote misogyny. It's hard to point the finger when there is so many examples against the culture. She was clearly wrong with grouping the entire genre together though.
Also this is a situation that always comes up. Hip Hop is still an art and a creative outlet. Regardless of content, I will always choose for someone to have the right to say whatever they want on a song. Even if some of it offends me. Movies and books and video games are the same way for me.

Nosakhare Ikponmwonba

Dude, You got your movies, Actress and Actors mixed up.....Worst use of analogy homie...update and reedit it...
"Have you seen the movie Unfaithful? In one scene, Viggo MortensenÃ¢â¬â¢s character begins to rape Diane LaneÃ¢â¬â¢s character. She begins smiling mid-coitus and the rape turns into consensual sex. The movie is billed as a Drama."
Unfaithful starred Diane Lane, Richard Gere and Oliver Martinez... Diane Lanes character was cheating on Richard gere, with Oliver Martinez, No rape scene....just adultry...and murder of the adulterer by Richard Gere (Oliver Martinez character was killed not Diane lane chracter, in fact they stayed together and hid the murder from the cops)
Maria Bello and Viggo Mortensen were in History of Violence together. There characters were married. Viggo has a violent past in which he was trying to forget about and which the family, including his wife knew nothing about. But he loved his family and wife. That scene was suppose to represent, the battle between Diane not knowing who her husband was. (i.e. Tom stall or the hitman/under boss Joey) You could argue she was either raped or that she got f*cked hard. However, she liked it cause thats how they got down, she first hated it because she felt he was a stranger to her. But if you really watch the movie you'll understand the fine line and how they usually get down sexually, prior to that "so called rape scene", they had a 69, while Maria character was wearing cheerleader uniform.
Now I see your mistake, Maria and Diane do somewhat look a like. However, your Dead Wrong when it comes to the movie analogy.
Other then that you have sound arguments..good read...

who the hell am I

Anonymous

Very good article. While I think you might be stretching a little bit with the Jim Crow connection, you make some good points about the rush to judgement that is all-too-prevalent in the internet age, as well as the taboo status of homosexuality within a genre in which alpha male-ness is almost always a prerequisite.
Also, I like what you did at the end with the "give us pause" line. Good stuff.

poetic assasin

Strong article.... we as a people we pick and choose what we want to get upset or voice our opinion on - if it was someone other than Mr Cee it would have blown up and everyone would have something to say

Ahfriqui

This piece represents my thoughts exactly when it comes to the Judd situation. As far as the Mister Cee situation; I think the changes in the youth of today also has to do this the lack of (tremendous)outrage. I find a lot of the youth below 30 are a lot more tolerant of "alternative" lifestyles then their elders. If this incident had happened in the 90s he would have been back on the air ever, let alone a fews days after the incident,

Lima

The real

No matter how you put it the nigga lied about it and got sucked by a tranny!!!! I just got a issue on giving a nigga a pass just because he worked with biggie!!!!There is no excuse for that shit!!!! In the words of the boon docks Nigga you gay!!!!